The twin screw steamer California was built by D. & W. Henderson Ltd, Glasgow for the Anchor Line Ltd in 1907 as a replacement for the aging ocean liner Astoria. She worked the Glasgow to New York trans-Atlantic route until she was torpedoed by the German U-Boat U-85 on 7 February 1917. Five people were killed instantly in the explosion; 36 people drowned either as the ship went down or when one filled lifeboat was swamped in the wake of the burning vessel, which plowed ahead losing little headway as she went down. She sank in nine minutes, 38 miles (61 km) W by S of Fastnet Rock, Ireland with a loss of 41 lives. Though Captain John L Henderson stayed on the bridge through the entire incident, and subsequently went down with the ship; incredibly he made his way to the surface and was rescued.
Specifications
Tonnage: 8,662 GRTLength: 470 ft (140 m)
Beam: 58.3 ft (17.8 m)
Draught: 34 ft (10 m)
Installed power: 827 horsepower
Propulsion: Triple Expansion Steam Engine with 6 cylinders, twin propeller
Speed: 16 knots (30 km/h)
Capacity: 800 Passengers
Crew: 200 Crew
No comments:
Post a Comment